TOP TIPS: How to protect your boilers from condensate backfill

With winter approaching, you need to make sure that your central heating system is protected from extreme cold and rain. Heavy rain can flood your boiler with water backfilling via the condensate pipe. With this in mind, our heating engineers have recommended a few things that you can do to protect your central heating system.

If you prefer to speak to our qualified and expert team across Pulborough, Storrington and Billingshurst, call us on 01903 740538 or 07871 725133.

1. Be ready for rain

Heavy rain puts a lot of strain on your drainage system, and it can be more expensive and time-consuming when compared to the impact it has from extreme cold. You could thaw condensate pipes and reset your boiler when the pipe freezes, however if it gets flooded, it can be very difficult to repair. So make sure you are protecting your boiler from the rain and not just the cold.

2. Keep gutters and downpipes clear

Gutters and downspipes are added to protect your home from rainfall but whenn blocked from leaves and other debris, it can nprevent water from flowing back into your homes internal plumbing. To prevent this from happenning, you can add a mesh to filter out such deposits.

3. Install an external air break into the pipework

There is a greater chance of the downpipe becoming blocked and water backfilling into the condensate pipe and, thus, the boiler, in systems where the condensate pipe terminates into the rain water downpipe rather than the house's waste water system.

In this case, an external air break could be installed into the pipework before it reaches the vertical rain water pipework, separating the boiler's condensate outlet from the drain pipe connection. This implies that even if the downpipe becomes clogged, water will not be able to flow back into the condensate pipe.

If you have a condensing boiler with a condensate pipe that runs externally, it could be prone to freezing this Winter.

Here are Some tips on helping you thaw / prevent a frozen condensate pipe:

Want to know more? Call our heating engineers across Pulborough, Storrington and Billingshurst, on 01903 740538 or 07871 725133 and we will be happy to help.